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Russia Bombing Mariupol Steel Plant Where Ukrainians Hiding; Cities In Eastern Ukraine Targeted By Russian Strikes; Justice Department Punts Mask Ruling Appeal To CDC; Frustration In Shanghai Over COVID-19 Lockdown Policy; UK's Johnson Apologizes For COVID "Partygate" Scandal. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 20, 2022 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[01:00:05]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine, with the coming hours may be critical for the besieged city of Mariupol. According to intercepted communications, Russian troops plan to level a sprawling steel factory, with the last remaining Ukrainian fighters looks at to make a final stand.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: And live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Paula Newton. I will be covering some of the other top stories this hour including the new era of massless travel. The Biden administration, though, could fight to revive that mask mandate.

VAUSE: The Russian Defense Ministry says it has once again offered a ceasefire to Ukrainian forces holed up in a steel factory in the city of Mariupol. But Ukrainian commanders call it a surrender and allow it to continue to fight despite being surrounded by Russian forces on all sides.

This drone footage of the steelworks aired on Russian state television. Ukrainian officials say up to 1,000 civilians, including women and children and the elderly have also taken shelter inside that facility with food and water now in short supply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. SERHII VOLYNA, UKRAINIAN 36TH SEPARATE MARINE BRIGADE (through translator): This is our statement to the world. It may be our last statement, we might have only a few days or even hours left. The enemy's units are 10 times larger than ours. They have supremacy in the air, artillery and units that are dislocated on the ground, equipment and tank. We appeal to the world leaders to help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That same Ukrainian commander says they're about 500 wounded. They're mostly Ukrainian fighters who've been left to rot without medical care. The rest of Mariupol is also in ruins. On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed the next phase of Russia's war has begun. We've already seen areas across the south and the east coming under fire in Luhansk, parts of Eastern Ukraine's Donbas. The regional governor says Russian forces are attacking from all directions with intense artillery and air bombardment.

New video into CNN shows some of the damage in eastern Ukraine into multiple buildings torn apart by military strikes. The scenes playing out less than 40 kilometers away from the town Crimea, where the regional governor says Russian forces are now in control.

Warning the next video you're about to see is graphic. It's difficult to watch.

In north eastern city of Kharkiv, local officials say a barrage of Russian shelling left at least three people dead and 16 hurt on Tuesday. The mayor says civilian areas have been under non-stop attack since Sunday.

And in the capital Kyiv, deputy mayor now requesting 200,000 gas masks to protect against potential chemical weapons attacks. U.S. has already shipped some protective gear to Ukraine. U.S. officials say more is on its way.

Kramatorsk is among the cities in eastern Ukraine under fire. CNN's Ben Wedeman shows us the aftermath of one deadly strike. And yet again another warning some may find parts of his report disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bomb disposal technicians collect the pieces of a Russian missile that slammed into a warehouse in Kramatorsk, Tuesday afternoon. The missile killed a 40-year-old worker, injured three others.

Doctors patch up one of the wounded from the afternoon strike. Since Russia invaded Ukraine almost two months ago, the staff here has had no rest.

We weren't preparing for this says Dr. Vytali Kyrylenko. Now we're doing only urgent surgeries.

One operation ends and another begins. This time a soldier wounded on the front line. Even here glass doors must be taped to minimize shattering in case of bombing. Sandbags cover the windows.

(on camera): The director of this hospital says thanks to help from abroad they do not lack for medicine, or equipment. What they desperately need is neurosurgeons.

(voice-over): That in a war where intense bombardment is the norm. These men are recovering in a special unit specializing in treating concussions sustained in artillery bombardments.

When shelling is just steps away, the damage is invisible, but it's there. They suffer from intense headaches, nausea, dizziness, and disorientation. Am I hired? A bit says Roman, who twice has suffered concussions not all wounds bleed. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Kramatorsk, Ukraine.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

[01:05:15]

VAUSE: Mick Ryan is a retired Major General from the Australian Army and former commander of the Australian Defence College and author of "War Transformed: The Future of 21st Century Great Power Competition and Conflict."

General, thank you for being with us again. So we appreciate your time. Are the Kremlin continues to move troops into the eastern part of this country, at least one, maybe two battle tactical groups in the last 24 hours?

If you look at the number of troops here, the Russians sort of outnumber the Ukrainians around two to one, maybe three to one. Is that sort of the overwhelming force, you would expect the Russians to have to make some significant gains? Are they still coming up short?

MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN, AUSTRALIAN ARMY (RET.): Hi, it's good to be with you again. But that is the right question at the moment. And my answer would be no. The math don't seem to stack up at the moment. The Russians have rushed this offense of normally, you would want at least three to one, if not more, but with the Russians, they would want way more because their forces are not as well laid. And they're not as cohesive as Ukrainians are.

VAUSE: So if we're looking at a situation where there's not a significant gain, made by the Russians in a relatively short period of time, especially by this May 9th deadline, where does that leave this other new military command here, General Alexander Dvornikov, in terms of options, as he then just double down on attacking civilian areas.

RYAN: I think that leaves him in a lot of trouble, because there's nowhere else in Ukraine they can really turn for some kind of substantial victory, but it's similar to the east. It is quite likely we could see this broke down into some form of Russian quagmire in the next month.

Putin is desperate for a victory. Whether it's the May 9th deadline or not, he needs something he can sell to the Russian people as a victory. He does not have that yet.

VAUSE: Right now, in Mariupol, about 1,000 civilians are holed up in a sprawling steel an ironworks. Here's one mother talking about what conditions are like right now. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm with my three children. And conditions are not the best here, this parent says. There's no way to study, not much food, and my kids teeth are starting to spoil, she says.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Also, in that facility, the last of Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol are also wounded. Ukraine say the Russians are well aware the presence of civilians and yet that still works is coming under constant attack. And there's also been this threat to level it.

So in this situation, if the Australian Army was confronted by a similar situation with steel works with fighters in there that you needed to get rid of the need to clear that area. What would the Australian Army do? What would the U.S. Army do? Or the British armed forces do with something like this?

RYAN: Well, the first thing is we wouldn't attempt to invade another democratic country. But at the end of the day, you would seek not to fight in those kinds of conditions against Ukrainian soldiers who are obviously well led and trained, but also there's a massive chance of killing or wounding civilians.

We care about those things. We care about the people we defend as well as the civilians in any country we go into. Shins don't my sense is they're quite happy to level the place regardless of whether they kill civilians or military people.

VAUSE: And when they say level, what will they do? What will -- how will they do that? What's the munitions could be used?

RYAN: Well, it's a pretty big steelworks. As you know, it's a massive factory, one of the largest steel plants in Europe. All they will do is just pounded with artillery, dumb bombs dropped from aircraft and missiles, and potentially even naval gunfire support if they do approach the Ukrainian coast again.

So this will be a process of massive bombardment to try and terrorize those remaining and kill those who won't surrender.

VAUSE: I want you to listen to the Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on the shipment of U.S. weapons coming into Ukraine. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: We're doing the best we can to focus on, A, the kinds of capabilities we know they need and that they say they want and are using. B, secondary to that, to try to get them systems that they don't need a lot of startup time for that they can put in the field almost immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK, so the pace of the shipments is picking up one military aid shipment touchdown in Europe and is now in Ukraine. Another seven expected to 24 hours. So the question is, do the Russian forces have the operational capability as well as the intelligence, the accurate intelligence about location and timing to target those shipments?

[01:10:03]

RYAN: I think it's very unlikely they would have to divert forces from the east and the south to be able to do that. And frankly, there are so many shipments coming in now that it would take the entire Russian Air Force just to find them, let alone target them. But the U.S. is doing is right with the kinds of weapons it's sending. What we need to do now is increased the quantity significantly.

VAUSE: That I guess is what remains to be seen, but enough gets in, in the right amount of time to make a difference here. General Ryan, thank you so much, sir. We appreciate it.

RYAN: Thank you, good to speak to you.

VAUSE: Appreciate it. Thank you. Well, back in the United States a patchwork of mask policies, leaving travelers confused after a mandate was struck down. But more details on that in a moment.

Also, China's strict lockdown policies threatening global supply chains. We'll ask one business analysts to weigh in on the disruptions on that next with Paula Newton.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:15:06]

NEWTON: The U.S. Justice Department says if the Centers for Disease Control determined masks are necessary for public health, it will in fact appeal to revive the mask mandate.

Now, a U.S. judge struck down the mask mandate for public transportation, taking airlines and passengers by surprise. Major airlines quickly made masks optional but not all city transit systems and airports did the same. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In what appears to be a large scale unmasking, masks are now flying off the faces of travelers across the country after a federal ruling struck down mask mandates for public transportation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Masks now optional. For employees (INAUDIBLE). So not everyone have any issue with someone for wearing a mask or not wearing a mask? It's all up to you guys right now. So enjoy the fresh air.

BROADDUS: The ruling came Monday from Florida U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a 2020 Trump nominee saying the CDC exceeded its authority. The announcement sparked some celebrations Monday on airplanes around the country as the mask mandates were lifted for traveler's mid-flight.

But beyond the initial cheers, the rule reversal prompted a wide variety of reactions from New York --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I took my mask off right away. Thank god.

BROADDUS: To Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I lost my grandmother to COVID a year ago. And so I'm very particular about the masks. So I'm going to continue to wear him no matter what the mandates are.

BROADDUS: In Chicago, one couple said the timing of the announcement worked out perfectly for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm ready to go on my honeymoon. And I'm glad everybody can see the smile on our faces.

BROADDUS: But the change has also created some frustration and uncertainty for some travelers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like it's a little too soon maybe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd rather be proactive. Instead of going back to where we just got out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now we're still in the middle of a pandemic, I think we should be wearing masks in public spaces.

BROADDUS: The lifting of the mandate prompted Delta Airlines to issue a statement expressing relief that quote COVID-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus. But the White House challenge that statement, leading Delta to change its language today, calling COVID- 19 quote, a more manageable respiratory virus with better treatments, vaccines and other scientific measures to prevent serious illness. The White House had hoped to keep the travel mandate for another two weeks. Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NEWTON: Now the COVID death toll in China is rising. Chinese Health officials say at least 17 people have now died from COVID-19 in Shanghai since the current outbreak started. Seven new deaths reported on Tuesday alone.

Now, most of the city as we've been trying to show you isn't under lockdown. You see it there for weeks, as China doubles down on it zero COVID policy. Lockdown has sparked widespread anger crippled supply chains and resulted in worrying shortages of food and essential supplies, even medicine.

Peter Lewis joins me now from Hong Kong. He's an experienced business consultant with deep knowledge of China's economy and its financial markets. He's also the host of Hong Kong's highly rated business and finance radio program. Money Talk. Good to see you. And have you weigh in on this.

You know, obviously, our first concern is for people's well-being here and people in China are now going through a lot. You know, you point out, though, that there is indeed a genuine risk ahead, not just for the Chinese economy, but for the global economy. Could it potentially trigger a major shock?

PETER LEWIS, DIRECTOR, PETER LEWIS CONSULTING: It certainly could. And there are signs that it's doing so already, Paula. Shanghai is a city of 25 million people. It's been completely locked down now for 20 days. And the original idea was to try and lock down the city in two halves. The eastern parts, which contain contains Pudong, the Financial District was going to be locked down for five days that would then reopen and then the western parts of the city would lock down for five days.

But there were so many cases we've been seeing 20,000 plus cases a day but Pudong never reopened. The rest of the city went into lockdown as well. And it's been like that ever since April the first.

Now, Shanghai is the country's biggest port, about 20 percent of the container through cortex exports go through the port, and also it's a major manufacturing hub. There's a lot of auto companies there Tesla has its Giga three production plants there, a lot of semiconductor manufacturers are there, biotech companies and a lot of them have been closed down completely over this period.

[01:20:13]

So this is having a supply shock. It's affecting supply chains all around the world, because a lot of these shipments now can't leave the ports can't leave the airport in Shanghai. And these are goods which are ultimately going to Europe in the US.

NEWTON: Yes, really all around the world. And you were just talking about the port in Shanghai there. Now the strains and supply chain we already see the indicators. I want you to have a live look here. There's already congestion at Shanghai, you can see it there.

Those are ships, right, waiting to load and unload. And just to give you an understanding of what we're looking at, look at this graph, it was published by Marine Insight, it's courtesy vessels value, the blue line. OK, that's 2021. Quite a few spikes, you know, and that indicated congestion already.

But look at the red line. It's nearly off the charts at this hour, so many ships waiting at the port in Shanghai. How worrying is this? And again, do you think we are ready for the impact that it could have on our global economy if this should worsen in China?

LEWIS: Well, one of the problems is that not only the ships jammed up in the port, truckers can't get to the ports to unload and offload goods. You need a permit now if you're a trucker to travel into Shanghai. There's long, long delays reports of truck drivers waiting 40 hours to get into the port. You have to have a COVID test before you're allowed to move to do so you need a special permit. So it's very difficult to even get goods to the ports.

So we saw with Yantian closed down in Shenzhen about last May, that's a huge container terminal, as well. Hundreds of thousands of shipments contained to the port, goods were accumulated in factories and warehouses. And it took two weeks after the port reopened to clear the cargo backlog. And you'll probably remember the effects cascaded to the U.S. there were port traffic jams in Los Angeles and other ports around the world.

Now, the difference this time is it's not just one port. It's an entire city that's closed down. And we're talking about a highly interconnected global trade center. So this is going to have impacts on supply chains, it's going to push prices up. We're going to see more inflationary pressure. And this is coming at the same time. Of course, it's the war in Ukraine, which is also a supply shock to the global economy as well.

So we saw yesterday, the IMF has revised downwards quite dramatically. And its global growth forecast to 3.6 percent. It's revised down the growth forecast for the U.S. to 3.7 percent. China's been revised down as well. And they've also revised up sharply their inflation forecasts, and we could see worse yet to come because we just simply don't know how long this is going to take.

Authorities in Shanghai are trying to get essential production plants open under what they call a closed loop system.

NEWTON: Right.

LEWIS: That means that their staff to actually sleep on the premises on the factory floors each there. Don't leave them. Don't go home. But the problem is there's a lot of staff who don't want to do that. And there's a shortage of parts to get these factories reopened. So it's going to be a global problem.

NEWTON: Yes, a global problem, indeed, and one that we're just really possibly starting to come to terms. Peter Lewis, thanks for your insights. Appreciate it.

LEWIS: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, the British Prime Minister is apologizing once again for breaking COVID lockdown rules at Downing Street in 2020. Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that it did not occur to him apparently, that gathering he attended would amount to a breach.

This is his first time speaking to lawmakers since he was fined by police whose investigation into the so called "partygate" scandal is still underway. The opposition Labour leader is urging the Prime Minister to step down and so is at least one senior member of his own ruling conservative party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK HARPER, UK CONSERVATIVE MP: I regret to say that we have a Prime Minister who broke the laws that he told the country they have to follow hasn't been straightforward about it, and is now going to ask the men and -- the decent men and women on these benches to defend what I think is indefensible. I'm very sorry to have to say this, but I no longer think he is worthy of the great office that he holds.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [01:25:00]

NEWTON: Conservative MP there. Parliament will vote Thursday over whether there should be an investigation into claims the Prime Minister misled lawmakers about the lockdown gatherings but analysts say the vote is in fact unlikely to pass.

OK, coming up here for us to report from the town of Borodyanka weeks after a Russian retreats why the death and destruction there, maybe worse than Bucha. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:29:38]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Forever the Russian army will be written in history as the most barbaric and inhumane army in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That's Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there. He also says that Russia is a source of evil, and targeting civilians has now become a Russian trademark.

The city Borodianka located outside Kyiv was devastated by Russia's invasion. Residents and survivors are going back now to pick up the pieces, to find and bury the dead, and to try and move on with their lives.

Here's the story now from CNN's Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice over): This was Borodianka before, a thriving blue collar town of nearly 13,000 people just 36 miles from the capital of Kyiv. Playgrounds full of children, neighbors enjoying the local cafes. For the most part a quiet and peaceful life.

And then the Russians began bombing civilian targets, such as residential apartment buildings for a full month. And now Borodianka is a shell of its former self. Craters replaced apartment buildings. An empty playground only filled with the remnants of war.

Rubble where apartment buildings once stood. A dentist's office with no patients left to treat. Victims of Putin's bombing campaign against Ukrainian civilians.

HALINA TZAPYK, BORODIANKA RESIDENT (through translator): The whole month we were sitting for one month from there and from here it was flying from there and from here. After occupying the towns in late February, the Russians did not hold back as the Ukrainian army forced them to retreat, making sure to leave their mark. (on camera): This neighborhood in Borodianka has just been completely

and utterly destroyed from the unemployment office over there to the municipal building. The mayor's office there, the police station there.

This was a memorial to Ukrainian soldiers who had fought the Russian and pro Russian separatists in the Donbas region, which began in 2014.

The memorial has been completely smashed onto the ground. In fact, the only thing still standing in this immediate area is this memorial right here. This memorial to the soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan under the Soviets.

(voice over): And now, roughly two weeks after the Russians withdrew after losing the battle of Kyiv and the surrounding area, people are starting to try to clean up what they can.

But what happened here at Borodianka cannot be swept away. There is no running water or electricity. The people who stayed and those who came back are relying on donations of clothing, food and water collected at a local church.

EVHEN HOLYBETS, VOLUNTEER IN BORODIANKA: Yes, yes. We packed into bags bread, then canned food -- everything that is brought here, we packed into these bags equally for everybody. People can choose clothing that they need.

TAPPER: A shed of waiting caskets serves as a reminder of what is buried under the wreckage, under the rubble, that once was Borodianka.

Halina Tzapyk never left. She survived on food in her own garden. She says her sister left the apartment building just before it was bombed.

TZAPYK: She left it at 6:00 a.m. and at 8:00 it was already bombed in the morning. It was a bombing from an aircraft. There are many air planes flying military over our land plots.

TAPPER: So many others inside that building, which looked like this last summer, but no longer exists, were not as lucky.

(on camera): Yesterday they found the bodies of nine people. And the day before, 12. All of them hiding in the basement, all of them trying to seek shelter.

(voice over): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said what happened here maybe worse than what happened in Bucha. So far city officials say the death toll is 50. But every day, firefighters digging through the rubble find more human remains.

(on camera): The fireman just came over and dropped off this notebook that they found in the rubble of the building that used to be here.

The deed to the building and the apartment records. The fireman just keep coming over and, putting these little bits of the humanity of the people who used to live here, as if they are going to come back, and claim it. As if any of them survived. Here's a wedding photo. (voice over): Lives seemingly on pause, about to be reclaimed at any moment. But in reality, stopped forever by the savagery of Putin's war.

(on camera): So set aside for now the daunting task of rebuilding Borodianka. As of now it's not even clear when there will be a full understanding, a reckoning of how many people were killed in Borodianka during that month of rent relentless Russian attacks.

As the fire fighter told us every time they go through the rubble to clear it out, every time they find bodies. And that's just one town, one town.

Jake Tapper, Ukraine -- back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:34:59]

VAUSE: Well, after celebrating Easter last weekend, Orthodox Easter is now coming up next weekend. Time for celebrations for many in Russia and Ukraine. But the head of the U.N. is now hoping that the Holy Week can lead to a pause in fighting.

And Tony Guterres says this will allow for the safe passage of civilians, and the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: Easter is a season for you renewal, resurrection and hope. This year, Holy Week is being observed under the cloud of a war that represents the total negation of the Easter message. I urge all parties, and all champions of peace around the world to join my Easter appeal.

Save lives, stop the bloodshed and destruction. Open a window for dialogue and peace. Keep faith with the meaning and the message of Easter. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: If you would like to help the people of Ukraine who are in need of shelter, in need of food, in need of water. As you saw in Jake's (INAUDIBLE) -- his story. They need pretty much everything right now.

Please go to CNN.com/impact. There you'll find ways to help.

I'll be back with a lot more of our breaking news coverage from Ukraine.

But up next, why local leaders in Texas and elsewhere along the U.S. Southern border are bracing for a new surge of migrants possibly as soon as next month. Paula Newton will have a lot more on that in a moment.

[01:36:28] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: You are looking at a massive fire that has been burning for several days, northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona. Residents near the so- called tunnel of fire are under evacuation orders.

Dozens of firefighters are working to try and contain the blaze which is threatening about 200 homes. Now at last check, the fire had grown to about 6,000 acres, or some 2,400 hectares.

The U.S. and Panama have now signed a bilateral agreement to improve the management of migration between the two countries and create more legal pathways for migrants.

Now, on a visit to Panama, America's top diplomat Antony Blinken called the agreement a priority for the U.S. and thanked Panama's leaders for their cooperation.

Blinken's remarks come as the Biden administration faces fierce criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike, over its immigration policies. Some of the backlash is a result of President Biden's decision to lift what is known as Title 42 next month.

The pandemic era policy allowed for the quick deportation of hundreds of thousands of migrants, citing a public health crisis. Now, border officials -- pardon me -- are again bracing for a surge at that southern border.

More now from CNN's Rosa Flores, reporting from Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This park in downtown San Antonio has turned into a waiting area.

(on camera): How many days have you been in San Antonio?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seven days.

FLORES (voice over): For migrants who are exempt from Title 42, the pandemic order that allows immigration agents to swiftly return migrants to Mexico.

Among those who are exempt -- an electric engineer, a paramedic and a professional artist.

They say they earned $2 and $4 U.S. in their home countries of Venezuela and Cuba. The city mayor, a Democrat, recently sending a letter to the Biden administration, sounding the alarm about the unsustainable increase of migrants.

His administration, warning that if Title 42 lifts, the city's ability to meet the humanitarian need could be limited.

(on camera): DHS estimates that thousands more migrants could arrive at the border. Would you be ready to serve that many more migrants? KATIE MYERS, INTERFAITH WELCOME COALITION: It's daunting.

FLORES (voice over): Katie Myers from Interfaith Welcome Coalition says that on average, between 150 and 200 migrants arrive at this bus station every day. Many with cell phones, the migrants say, issued and geolocated by the U.S. government.

(on camera): It says take a picture of yourself.

(voice over): Some migrants confused about how to use the devices to check in with immigration officials using facial recognition technology. An alternative to detention rolled out by the Biden administration.

Another 300 to 500 migrants being dropped off at the airport every day, says Myers, the latest spike she says, started in mid March.

(on camera): How many of you had money to buy a ticket to get to your destination?

(voice over): And it came with a new challenge. Migrants are arriving with no plan and no money. The result, sleeping at the park.

(on camera): About how many people have slept in the park?

MYERS: There might have been 20 or 25.

FLORES (voice over): Per night says Myers.

That's why Pastor Gavin Rogers says he recently opened a shelter at Travis Park Church. You see mostly men here because women with children are placed in hotels, he says.

PASTOR GAVIN ROGERS, TRAVIS PARK CHURCH: They can shower. They can eat. They can receive proper food. And they can wait safely until they get through San Antonio.

FLORES: On average between 50 and 150 migrants sleep here every night, says Rogers. A nonprofit filling in the gaps for the federal government.

ROGERS: It falls on to nonprofits, municipalities that really are kind of indifferent to the local or national politics, but have to find a local solution.

U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar represents this area, and he's bucking his party on Title 42 saying the Biden administration's intent to end the policy --

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): Would be a mistake.

FLORES (on camera): So when you asked the White House for a plan, what do they say?

CUELLAR: Well, they said they have a plan, and I saw --

FLORES: Did they share the plan?

CUELLAR: They said we're going to notify the nonprofits that more people are coming. That's not a plan. That's just a notification.

They said we're going to bring some of the agents from the northern border over here. That's only temporary.

[01:44:58]

FLORES: (voice over): Most migrants stay in San Antonio a few nights. Jesse Amaya has been here 21 days. He says he is waiting for his wife who still in Mexico waiting to across.

(on camera): Her physical safety.

(voice over): He says he plans to wait for her in San Antonio, the place they hope to call home.

(on camera): So what is the mayor of San Antonio asking the federal government for?

First of all, more resources, and also a heads up before the federal government dropped off an increasing number of migrants in his city.

Rosa Flores, CNN -- San Antonio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: The Florida governor pulls a power play to get more Republicans in office, but will voters and the courts accept his new congressional map?

With just a few days before the decisive vote, meantime, the French presidential candidates will debate each other in the coming hours. We'll have details that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:49:59]

NEWTON: Outrage is growing in Florida over the governor's proposed redrawing of the state's voting maps. It's been in a way -- it's been done in a way that would help his Republican Party pick up several U.S. House seats in the next election, while hurting Democrats and minority districts. Protests were held in the state capitol Tuesday.

And CNN Dianne Gallagher has more now from Tallahassee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): A special session here in the state of Florida to approve new congressional maps is now underway and could have major implications on the 2022 and 2024 elections. The Republican legislature approved maps that likely would give Republicans an advantage, but protectively northern districts. But the Republican Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed those maps that will pass by his own party. He instead offered a new map proposal last week, one that does give to Republicans an advantage but also diminished minority districts.

Currently there are five black members of Congress from Florida. Four of those are Democrats, and the map proposed by DeSantis would likely eliminate two of those seats currently held by Representative Val Demings and Al Lawson (ph).

Now redistricting is a process done every ten years in the United States that determines what communities are represented by each member of Congress. It is crucial in political representation.

Democrats say that DeSantis is essentially neutralizing the black vote and black representation. DeSantis says the he used a, quote, 'race neutral method". And that he feels that not only does it adhere to the U.S. Constitution, but does not violate the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

Now again, Democrats and voting rights activists say that they feel that this would be a clear violation of the Voting Rights Act, but also the Florida state constitution, which requires the protection of minority districts.

Those maps will likely pass out by the end of this week and be signed into law by the governor. After that, they will inevitably end up in court.

Dianne Gallagher, CNN -- Tallahassee, Florida.

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NEWTON: In just a few hours France's presidential candidates will face each other in a debate just days before the runoff election. Polling on Tuesday showed incumbent President Emmanuel Macron was widening his lead over far-right challenger, Marine Le Pen. Voters will make their decision Sunday.

And Melissa Bell reports they are expected to decide with their wallets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A show of determination and dismay. On Saturday, thousands of people took to the streets of France to call for a votes against the far-right but with little enthusiasm for the alternative.

On Sunday voters will choose once again between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. In 2017 the globalist centrist newcomer had (INAUDIBLE) off the nationalist far-right candidate, winning by a big margin after sweeping aside the traditional right and left. This time, Le Pen has Macron's record to attack and anger over inflation and the cost of living.

MARINE LE PEN, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): It's not just the cost of things, of goods, it's also employment. There are companies that are in trouble and may go bust. BELL: The far-right candidate is hoping to tap into to some of the

raids that exploded on to the streets of France earlier on in Macron's first term. The Yellow Vest protest sparked by a fuel tax hike but focused on Macron's reforming presidency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's seen with real hatred. He's done a lot of damage. He's hurt very badly a section of the French population.

BELL: The French president's proposed reform of France's pension system including pushing back retirement age also led to angry protests which forced him to put it on hold.

The pandemic then quiet in the streets of fronts, but only momentarily with protests picking up again over COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.

The presidential campaign kicked off without the president who was focused on global issues, specifically the war in Ukraine. Adding to the sense that Macron can seem out of touch with the concerns of ordinary French people.

NATHALIE LOISEAU, EX-FRENCH MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS: He doesn't look like your friend next door. You basically never met a guy like him before you meet him. So it's an asset, but it's also a liability for him.

[01:55:02]

BELL: But after the first round of voting on April 11th saw more than 50 percent of votes go either to the extreme right or to the extreme left, ahead of the second round, Macron's now campaigning not so much on his record, as on the changes that he plans to make.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): I have no desire to do five more years. No, I don't want to redo them. I want to completely (INAUDIBLE) something. I want it to be five years of complete renewal.

BELL (on camera): The question is whether that promise of renewal will be enough to help convince voters to choose a president who's proven as divisive at home as he has ubiquitously ruled (ph).

Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: I'm Paula Newton at CNN Center in Atlanta.

Our breaking news coverage of the war in Ukraine continues with John Vause, live from Ukraine right after this.

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